THEchildhood can last forever. Or, at least, its shadow accompanies us even as adults, often leaving us with traumas and pains that do not heal, voids that cannot be filled. He is convinced of it Giò Coppola, fifty-year-old Peter Pan, single father with the fear of growing oldprotagonist of I’ll call you tonightby Lorenzo Maronealready author of successful novels such as The temptation to be happy (which inspired the film Tenderness by Gianni Amelio).
Giò reads the weather forecast on TV, which is almost always wrong, he is immature and has been unable to cultivate a love story since he separated. His life turns upside down when his ex-wife has to leave for work and leaves him their 9-year-old son, Duccio. Judicious, wise, even too much for his age, but also hurt by the abandonment of his father, who almost disappeared after the divorce. Both must find a way to love each other, amidst disappointments and misunderstandings, with irony and tenderness and the help of a wonderfully imperfect family. Giò finally grows up and Duccio learns to be a child again.
He also dedicates this book to himself: “That child of the seventies who deserved a better childhood”. How was it?
My father left home when I was 5 years old. I was the only one in class with separated parents, I felt different. I grew up without a male reference figure, I was shy, introverted. I needed affection but my family was cold, no one ever told me I love you.
Lorenzo Marone is the author of many award-winning novels and has been translated in 17 countries (photo by Marco Curatolo).
She has a son the same age as Duccio. As a father, do you share anything with Giò?
I’m not so light-hearted, I’m squarer and more mature. My character has a father, even if he is affectionate, and he dispenses some advice. In common with Giò there is the difficulty of being a father at 50. I am also separated and face the difficulties of managing a child alone. After divorce, the burden of responsibility increases. But I wanted to approach this theme with a certain lightness and therefore I needed a somewhat reckless character.
Can a divorce ever be painless?
It doesn’t exist. Even if parents do everything, even if they have a civil separation without putting their children in the middle. Trauma is inevitable.
“I’ll call you tonight” by Lorenzo Marone (Feltrinelli).
He writes: “No one has the power to make another unhappy except parents.” Is this the crux of the story?
At 50 I understood that you never get out of childhood. It is a wound that remains and does not heal. Fathers and mothers have enormous power over their children, if they make mistakes in the first years of the child’s life, they ruin him. However, in addition to the environment and parental education, one’s nature also counts.
Can’t a son redeem himself?
It’s true, everyone has their own identity and I believe that many are guided by an internal compass, something ancestral that tells us what is right and what is wrong. In fact, my friends consider me a miracle worker, with the family I had I could have ended up badly. But childhood traumas leave their mark. Maybe they get over it, but the wound remains.
It features a series of hilarious characters, such as Giò’s parents and sister, his friend, eternal optimist, Paco Meraviglia, and even a cat who is a fan of talent shows. But beneath this cheerful surface we find a platoon of absent or incompetent fathers and angry and depressed women. Are today’s fifty-year-olds really in such bad shape?
Even worse. There is an inability to deal with adulthood. This society doesn’t allow you to grow old, to get sick, to become ugly, you have to take care of yourself, always look young and this creates a lot of stress. Then we have complicated lives, we are the first generation to find ourselves with young children, elderly parents to look after and in the midst of our working careers. Doing everything is difficult, not only for mothers, but also for fathers.
Giò’s father, cold and absent all his life, mends his ways in old age. Can it be changed, then?
It doesn’t happen often, but I like this vision. It comforts me to think that with age we become wiser and can be more welcoming.
His son appears in the dedication, twice. Did you tell him about this novel?
Yes, I told him in broad terms. One day he will read it, I hope. Through fantasy, a bit of comedy and narrative devices, I hope to make him understand how important he is to me and how difficult the role of parent is. Unfortunately, they don’t give us the leaflet when a child is born.
Do you think you could have written this story with the same intensity if you hadn’t been a father?
In reality, I composed many parts of the novel at the age of 35, when my child had not yet been born. I really think I would have been able to find the same nuances. Because parenthood is inside you. There are many people who have children but who cannot be called parents.